Charles P. Ives III, history expert

Jacques Kelly, The Baltimore Sun

Charles Pomeroy Ives III, a state of Maryland telecommunications worker who immersed himself in history causes from North Point to Carroll County, died in his sleep of a circulatory illness Oct. 20 at his Stoneleigh home. He was 63.

Born in Elizabeth, N.J., and raised in Loch Raven Village, he was a 1967 Towson High School graduate. He had belonged to the Boy Scouts. His grandfather, C.P. Ives, was a Sun editorial writer from 1939 to 1973.

Mr. Ives earned a bachelor's degree in history at Thiel College in Greenville, Pa. He worked at Baltimore banks, the Venable law firm and Ciena. In 2001, he joined the state's Department of Budget and Management, which later split into the Department of Information Technology. He worked at the state office complex in Baltimore and later had an office in Annapolis.

"He had an innate curiosity about history and liked to see things done right," said his aunt, Cornelia M. "Corky" Ives of Reisterstown.

She said her nephew was widely read. "You should see his library," she said. "He became an expert on Colonial tanning methods and kept a bookshelf of tanning books. When word got out of his knowledge, he was called to speak and advise at historic sites. He immersed himself in the field and lived in his own world."

She said her nephew's devotion to history was hands-on. In 2004, he worked on a site near Old North Point Road, the Battle Acre Monument that commemorates events in the War of 1812. It is a 1-acre lot set aside in 1842 to memorialize the soldiers who fought and died in the Battle of North Point.

"When he became involved with the Battle Acre Monument, it had become overgrown and its iron fence was falling down. Chuck led a charge to restore the ironwork and get a new historic marker placed. When it was finished, it looked wonderful," said Ms. Ives, a retired Baltimore County Public Library branch manager.

From 2010 to 2012, he was president of the Society of the War of 1812 in the state of Maryland and at his death held the office of vice president general.

"He was an activist for history. He went out to schools and centers and spoke about the War of 1812 and genealogy," said Christos Christou Jr., president of the War of 1812 society who lives in Essex. "He was always helpful."

He was treasurer of the Journal of the War of 1812 and belonged to the Society of the Sons of the Revolution in the State of Maryland and the General Society of the War of 1812.

A re-enactor, he had a War of 1812 general's uniform.

Scott Sheads, a National Parks Service historian at Fort McHenry, said Mr. Ives spent several summers in the 1980s as a seasonal park ranger at the fort.

"He was a pleasure to work with and knew the story of the fort," Mr. Sheads said.

For the past 40 years, Mr. Ives was a member of the Society for the Preservation of Old Mills and was an active board member of the Union Mills Homestead Foundation in Carroll County. He chaired its curatorial committee.

"He will be remembered for organizing and preserving a huge collection of artifacts that date to 1797," said Jane Sewell, the homestead's executive director. "He was invaluable to us. He was energetic, a one-man band. Whatever his objective, he'd jump in with both feet."

She said Mr. Ives was a "talented woodworker" who had an "amazing ability to reconstruct historic artifacts." She recalled that he made a working bellows for the homestead's blacksmith shop. "When he finished it, it was absolutely beautiful and remains in constant use," she said.

When a purple martin house was destroyed during a storm, Mr. Ives copied it faithfully. When needed, he also ran the homestead's grist mill for school groups and other visitors.

"He was of enormous value to Union Mills," Ms. Sewell said. "He worked such long hours, I'd sometimes say, 'Chuck, I am locking the front door, and you are going home, too.'"

Mr. Ives used his knowledge of information technology to record the homestead's collections. He prepared spreadsheets for inventories and insurance purposes.

"He brought our collections and their management into the 21st century," said Frank Shriver, a fellow board member who lives in Union Mills. "He pushed us to improve what had been largely unorganized family belongings."

James M. Shriver III, also a board member who lives in Union Mills, said Mr. Ives was the driving force behind a new publication of Civil War-era diaries related to the Shriver family and Union Mills.

"He was a good conversationalist, and was thorough and detailed in his use of original historic sources," Mr. Shriver said.

Mr. Ives enjoyed running and completed several marathons. He liked the outdoors and hiked. He was recognized last year for his 25 years of volunteer maintenance on the Appalachian Trail.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the Mitchell-Wiedefeld Funeral Home, 6500 York Road in Rodgers Forge.

In addition to his aunt, survivors include his father, Paul Pomeroy Ives of Towson; a sister, Susan Ives Scott of Reisterstown; and two other aunts.